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Gastric band 10 years on

Catell

New Member
Hi all
I'm a first time poster so hello and thank you in advance for reading and any advice - apologies for the long post.

Its coming up to 10 years since I had my gastric band fitted. I am 50 years old and perimenopausal. I started putting weight on for the first time during lockdown but blamed it on a mixture of poor lockdown diet, lack of exercise and being menopausal but no matter what I do I can't shift the extra 20lb. I'm using Fitness pal and monitoring everything I eat (I can eat 'normal' sized meals but am limiting my calories to 1300 and choosing healthy stuff, lots of protein, fruit and veg etc)

I had a fill last yea but my band was so tight l had permanent acid reflux so had band loosened again in December and now can eat too much. My privately paid Bariatric nurse says my band is nearly full but we don't know what size band I have in or how much it can hold. I lost my paperwork in a house move, the private hospital (UK based) has closed down and nobody can find my medical records to confirm what size band I have. I paid extra last year to have x-ray to check everything was in place and again it was confirmed my band is nearly full but I can eat a LOT of food and I'm finding it hard to know where to go next to lose the extra weight. I have physical limitations and exercise is very limited, even walking.

Does there come a point were the band becomes ineffectual? Or maybe I've messed around with it too much over the years? For 8 years I seriously never had to worry bout putting weight on and getting the surgery was the best decision I ever made and I'm just feeling a little disillusioned that I now can't shift more than 2lb in three months despite my best efforts.

As I paid privately for original surgery (and not long finished paying off the loan!) I can't afford any more surgery

Any advice would be great
 
Last edited:

Mazza

Administrator
Staff member
Hello and welcome!

I had a band fitted in 2009 but ended up getting it removed in 2015, before being sleeved in 2016.

The lack of weight loss could be a combination of things but as the band is almost full and presumably in the right place still, it's likely to be age/peri menopause related. You are doing all the right things, so I can imagine how frustrating it must be.

Bands do 'fail' as I'm sure you are aware, I'm no medical expert but I can't understand how you can eat normal sized portions with an almost full band?

Personally, I would recommend that you speak to your GP to see if you can get a referral to a dietician. That's how I started the ball rolling when I was struggling with my band, once I was under the weight management team and couldn't lose anymore weight, I got scans and lots of tests which identified my band was eroding, causing my awful reflux.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do and keep us posted 🙂
 

Catell

New Member
Hello and welcome!

I had a band fitted in 2009 but ended up getting it removed in 2015, before being sleeved in 2016.

The lack of weight loss could be a combination of things but as the band is almost full and presumably in the right place still, it's likely to be age/peri menopause related. You are doing all the right things, so I can imagine how frustrating it must be.

Bands do 'fail' as I'm sure you are aware, I'm no medical expert but I can't understand how you can eat normal sized portions with an almost full band?

Personally, I would recommend that you speak to your GP to see if you can get a referral to a dietician. That's how I started the ball rolling when I was struggling with my band, once I was under the weight management team and couldn't lose anymore weight, I got scans and lots of tests which identified my band was eroding, causing my awful reflux.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do and keep us posted 🙂
Thank you for your reply. I did end up going to GP and he's started some tests so hopefully this will lead to some answers, whether it's due to the band, age and/or the menopause.

I just hope it doesn't lead to the band being taken out as I couldn't afford to have it replaced and I know I wouldn't qualify for surgery on the NHS.

What causes a band to erode? Is it due to the age of the band or acid reflux?

Cheers
 
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